Rocky Mountain Research Station

Title: Field guide for identifying fuel loading models

Author: Sikkink, Pamela G.; Lutes, Duncan C.; Keane, Robert E.

Date: 2009

Source: Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-225. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 33 p.

Station ID: GTR-RMRS-225

Description: This report details a procedure for identifying fuel loading models (FLMs) in the field. FLMs are a new classification system for predicting fire effects from on-site fuels. Each FLM class represents fuel beds that have similar fuel loadings and produce similar emissions and soil surface heating when burned using computer simulations. We describe how to estimate fuel load in the field, match the load estimates to an appropriate FLM, and use the FLMs to predict the smoke or soil heating that could result from burning those loads. The FLM names can also be used as fuel descriptors in other applications, including inputs into fire models for predicting fire effects, data layers for mapping fuel conditions, and supplements to vegetation data for more complete environmental descriptions to use in restoration or wildlife habitat planning.

Keywords: First-order fire effects, fuel classification, fuel loading, fuel mapping, fuel classification key

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Citation

Sikkink, Pamela G.; Lutes, Duncan C.; Keane, Robert E.  2009.  Field guide for identifying fuel loading models.   Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-225. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 33 p..